Around the southwest side of the island lays the town of San Juan. It's the only somewhat developed town on that side of the island, mainly because there are reefs for tourists to snorkel in. This was our destination for the day.
Breakfats began again at Tori's for the buffet. It was literally the only dining option we could find in the area. The weather turned against us, with gray rainclouds providing a light shower. Moments later a clear beautiful sky emerged.
The day before we had asked D if we could stay another night. We had checked online and saw there was a few openings, but we wanted to do it directly with her since she gave us a "special" deal of 1,000 pesos a night, while the online posting showed and 1,400 pesos. She must have realized this as well, so she hedged her bets and lied to us, saying the hotel was full, but check back later to see if there were any cancellations. To hedge our bets also, we found a room down the road just in case, and told her as much. It was an old fashioned Mexican standoff, which each side refusing to budge. Eventually, as we were walking back from breakfast, she summoned Ben from across the way. "Ben, I need to speak with you for a while" was her exact wording. According to her, magically there was a [mysterious] cancellation! Therefore, we could stay another night, at our "special" price of 1,000. In the end, we didn't break, and got what we wanted.
Getting anywhere in the Philippines is a hassle, and Siquijor is no different. Tricycles are a dime a dozen, each one charging more than the last one. They are hard to bargain with, so we prefer to find Jeepneys, if we can manage to find one. D had told us the local price was 20P per person, but we were repeatedly quoted 150-250 total. Once we convinced a guy to take us for 50, we were on our merry way with three women and three children. One of the little girls was basically sitting on Benjamin, all the while slowly dripping chocolate milk on his leg.
On the way up to San Juan we witnessed a motorbike accident that left two people pretty badly injured on the side of the road. Our driver turned the bike around and asked us if he could wait a few minutes while he went to check on the scene. We said it was no problem, maybe it was a family member or someone he knew. When the driver got off and ran to the scene he yelled back to us, "come come come" for some. We looked at each other, shrugged, and curiously followed him. For no rhyme or reason the driver just wanted us to witness the scene. The driver and the rest of the passengers stuck around for a couple minutes until the driver went back to the tricycle. We boarded the vehicle and drove off. The whole situation was truly bizarre.
We got dropped off at the Coco Grove Beach Resort. Next to the resort is the Tubod Marine Sanctuary, the number one rated snorkeling location according to TripAdvisor. Although the entrance fee is 50P per person, we accidentally went through the hotel and saved a couple dollars. There are beautiful reefs full of multiple types of clownfish and fun fish. Unfortunately our camera ran out of battery and we only got a few pictures and a very funny video of a parrot fish.
After our snorkel session we walk to an Italian restaurant, the Marco Polo, and ordered Ben's new favorite, Hawaiian Pizza!!
After lunch we decided it was time to go back to D's place. It would be a grand quest to find a tricycle that would take us back for 50P, but we were determined. We marched on to the busy street of San Juan and stuck our thumbs out at all moving objects passed by. Still in her one piece bathing suit from the snorkeling, we were hoping maybe the attention would get us a lift. Instead, a middle aged American on a motorbike crossed over the road, on the wrong side of the road, and advised Nadine to cover herself up, lest she gets a ticket from the local cops. Pointing out that the Philippines is that last true Catholic stronghold in the world, we need look no further than the beaches where we will find all women dressed modestly. Ben had read an article about the topic the week prior, but didn't think much of it.
As fun as it. would have been to have an altercation with a Filipino police officer about Nadine's body, we decided it was best just to cover up. Due to Nadine's body reveal, we ended up engaging in a 30 minute convo with this random guy who may or may not actually live in Siquijor. Ben asked him point blank if he lives on the island, and his response was "Yeah...so I smoke a lot of weed." He proceeded to tell how he owns a company on the island and has been here for the past half year on business. What was the business, one may ask? He hired a bunch of locals to climb to the top of the mountain and pick various leaves, then take them to their private homes, dry them, package them, then send them to the US via regular mail. What kind of leaves? Blunt wraps. He was a dope head who sells leaves for Americans to use to smoke marijuana. Going along with his story, we inquired about the logistics of his business and how things work with U.S. customs, to which he responded "I am sort of flying under the radar these days." Between this guy and the motorbike accident, we had two strange experiences within hours.
Back on the mean streets of San Juan, many tricycle taxis cruised without bothering to stop for us. In the Philippines, local government regulate the prices, which are printed, laminated, and posted in the front of the tricycles next to their license and business permits. Even when we point out the true prices, they couldn't give a hoot. Tourists are warned and advised to call the local police to report it, but that doesn't help the situation, nor would the police care. Nadine used her MBA negotiating skills by telling a driver we will pay the normal 10p and we can pick up others along the way, but the drive said quite honestly that the posted prices are for locals, not for tourists. It's a lie, but he was ironically honest about the scam. Instead he offered 150, which is 70 pp. Eventually we found a driver who took us for 50 total.
Finally back at D's place Ben had a craving for more Hawaiian pizza, so he ventured off alone to Tori's because Nadine didn't feel like moving. While he was there Nadine also got a craving for more pizza. Ben brought her back a pizza, which Nadine wolfed down all alone. Big girl.
The next morning we decided it was time to leave Siquijor and continue to Cebu Island.
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